Winter Moments
by Spicas
Summary: The winter holidays were a big thing in the Capitol, something that lasted for days every December, and probably Effie's favorite time of the year. There would be balls, gifts, amazing dinner and feasts. So it was only natural that Effie hoped to have a magical time this year as well. Post-Mockingjay; Effie tries to adapt to Twelve. Hayffie centric with some Everlark.


_A/N: This was actually the first Christmas story I wrote, but I thought it'd be better closer to Christmas - since I'll be away until the 27th, thought it'd be best to post it in advance! Since religion isn't something really debated in THG, I opted to make the festivities more about the season than the whole Christian thing. Hope you'll like it!_

* * *

 **Winter Moments**

The winter holidays were a big thing in the Capitol, something that lasted for days every December, and probably Effie's favorite time of the year. There would be balls, gifts, amazing dinner and feasts. There was a ceremony where the entire Training Center was lit up, along with a big tree, ice skating, wonderful winter drinks — it truly was magical.

So it was only natural that Effie hoped to have a magical time this year as well.

It was her first time celebrating the holiday in Twelve and, surprisingly, even Katniss and Peeta seemed to be excited. It was apparently never quite big there — no public ceremonies to speak of, anyway, because the district had never had money to spare — but it was time to be grateful for what they had, and to enjoy family and friends, and — well, everyone had lost enough of that already. They had each other, and so they wanted to enjoy it. The Capitol's celebrations wouldn't be as big as usual this year, or so Effie had heard on the news. But she didn't care — she was glad to be in Twelve. And thus, she entrusted Haymitch with her plans for this year's holiday.

"You want to cook dinner for our winter holiday?" He repeated her words from his spot on the couch; when she didn't answer right away, he tore his eyes away from the page of the book he was currently reading. "You?"

"Do you see anyone else here? Yes, me," Effie repeated, crossing her arms in front of her. "Why do you look so incredulous?"

Haymitch smirked. "You're not the best at cooking, sweetheart."

She uncrossed her arms, a little surprised at his words. She didn't know why they hurt so much, so suddenly. She just wanted to do something nice for them.

"Hey. I didn't mean that you're bad at it," Haymitch continued, closing the book and sitting up. "Just meant that you're still learning, and I know in the Capitol the food for the holiday was… a lot."

"I can do it. I've made chicken before. It's basically the same, isn't it?" Effie asked, now feeling quite uncertain about the idea. "It's not like rice is very complicated, and… we just need some salad, and that's it. Right?"

"You've made chicken _once_ before, and half of it was burned," Haymitch reminded her. She didn't need the reminder. "The kids won't mind cooking, you know. Peeta is better at it than anyone else, and the bakery won't open that day."

"It's my favorite holiday," Effie told him, very seriously. "I want to cook. I want us to celebrate it here."

"You realize it's not as fabulous here as it was in the Capitol, don't you?" Haymitch asked her. "It's gonna start snowing soon, and that's a right mess. We don't have cute little lights everywhere. There's no tradition around here, except that of a meal together. And we already do that every other day."

"I know that," Effie said sheepishly. "We should start making some traditions. A special meal, then presents!"

Haymitch snickered. "You just want to get a present, don't you?"

That did it. "Haymitch, why won't you take me seriously? I'm trying to do something nice for all of us and you just… you just…"

"Okay. Easy, Princess," he stood up, the book thrown unceremoniously on the couch behind him, and walked towards her. His palms touched her shoulders and his hands felt warm even through her sweater. She hated how she was always on edge nowadays; she and Haymitch had always been volatile, but communication was a little easier now that their relationship was actually a thing, not something they were fighting or ashamed of. They were living together, and learning this together. But she still had her moments, and she was still scared of the simplest things sometimes. Getting her life back on track wasn't an easy thing, especially once she realized the life she used to have was lost forever. "Easy. Didn't mean to offend you or anything. We can be the holiday hosts. Alright?"

Effie nodded, a little embarrassed at how close to tears she already had been. But she took a deep breath, and smiled. She liked it when he talked about them like that — not _my_ _house_ , _ours_. Not _I, we_.

"Gift exchanging might be complicated, though. We're only a week away. It's not like Twelve has a lot of options."

"We don't need the gifts. Just us is fine. Just our team," she insisted, hoping he wouldn't regret agreeing to this.

"And I'll help you with dinner," he announced at last.

Effie shook her head. "Did you hear a word of what I said? I want to be the one to do it."

Haymitch sighed. A sure sign that he was getting impatient.

Effie stood her ground.

"Effie, the only thing you can cook on your own is pasta. Maybe fried eggs," Haymitch told her.

"My grandmother used to cook when I was a little girl. She used to say it was a very old tradition," Effie said. "I want to have that. A tradition, that is."

Haymitch still looked doubtful.

But Effie had an idea.

"You can be in charge of dessert, if you want to help."

He made a face. "Why do we even need dessert?"

"This is special, Haymitch," she reminded him slowly. "It won't be our regular dinner. We should have a dessert dish."

"What am I supposed to make?" He asked, looking a little worried himself.

 _Good_.

"I don't know. Something with chocolate," she suggested. "There must be at least one cooking book in that library of yours."

He mumbled, but agreed, and Effie started the preparations.

The first thing she did was to call one of her old friends and ask him to send her one of the boxes from her old apartment to Twelve; most of her things were now in storage, and she swore she'd get around bringing everything to Twelve once she realized she'd be staying there permanently, but it had been eight months and she had yet to make a move on those things.

Still, they needed decorations, and those were hard enough to find as it was — no point buying more when she had perfectly good and very pretty decorations storaged. Haymitch hadn't exactly agreed to having the house decorated, but he hadn't disagreed either — and he was always telling her to feel comfortable since it was her house too. Effie decided this was the perfect time to take such liberties.

The food was actually the least of troubles, of course. Katniss had already caught a turkey that was just the perfect size for the feast, and Effie spent the days before the holiday trying out different kinds of gravy and what could be served with the main course. Pasta was, of course, vetoed — no one ever had pasta for the winter feast, and Effie certainly wouldn't do that — hers tended to be overcooked, too. Fried eggs were out of question as well. And so Haymitch had helped her bake potatoes and professed that they were, indeed, very tasty, so that was another thing she could cook — and something that quickly joined the turkey in the feast's menu.

Her first attempt at a gravy was too spicy, though — in a way that Effie spent at least five minutes coughing while Haymitch laughed from the table; another was too sweet, and another was too bland. Haymitch then gave her the idea of just asking Peeta to make one instead — and nearly got whacked in the head for such a suggestion.

She'd make it. She knew she could do it.

As the days went by, it became clear nothing would be as perfect as Effie had envisioned.

A blizzard hit Twelve on the 20th of December, and Effie's decorations got delayed. To help matters, she was not entirely used to the cold, and thus spent the next two days sneezing.

"I hate this," she declared one evening, once Katniss and Peeta had left and she was lying down in bed. "Why is it so cold all the time? I'm freezing."

Haymitch chuckled; he had just left the shower and seemed way too comfortable wearing flannel pants and a simple T-shirt — with short sleeves even! — in a way that made Effie shiver in irritation from her spot in bed. They might have central heating, but it was nowhere near enough, and just seeing the snow falling outside the window made her feel even colder.

"You sure you're not running a fever?" He asked after a moment, toweling his hair dry and walking towards her; his palm met her forehead, and she sighed. "Feels okay to me."

"Good. We have the feast in five days, I must be recovered by then," Effie announced.

Haymitch pursed his lips. "You know, Effie, we could postpone it. Doesn't look like the snow will stop anytime soon."

"We've already made plans with Peeta and Katniss," Effie reminded him.

"So? The kids won't mind. It's not that important," Haymitch told her.

Effie sat up and glared at him. "It _is_ important."

"Yeah, sure, but everybody will understand if you're not up for it," his fingers caressed her cheek and jaw in a loving gesture that never failed to surprise her. She was still getting used to this side of Haymitch's. "You shouldn't overdo it."

He was thinking of her injuries, she knew it.

"What's a cold to do with a dislocated shoulder and a few scars?" She said bravely. "The shoulder is fine now, I told you. Don't worry about it."

It was true that it bothered her on occasion — and it certainly hadn't helped it when he accidentally pushed down during a rather heated moment in bed two weeks ago; it would have been harmless to anyone else, she supposed, but she had had physical therapy for months and it could still be vulnerable to such antics.

"No, we're having the feast," she said, determined. Haymitch sighed and walked towards his side of the bed. "And if it snows — well, even better. All the songs talk about falling snow and I never got to experience that in the Capitol."

She sat back down as Haymitch joined her, turning off her bedside table lamp and immediately burrowing herself next to his side in search of warmth. How he could be so warm, she had no idea.

"It snowed last year."

Effie snuggled closer to him, her nose touching his neck. "I didn't see it."

He opened his mouth to speak, but hissed instead — her feet had just met his legs, and he professed she had ice cubes in there somewhere. She didn't make a move, though, and he did warm her up nicely, even if he grumbled about it.

By the 23rd, she was feeling confident about the feast's menu and better about her own health. She fretted over the boxes that had yet to arrive from the Capitol, until Haymitch finally lost his patience and left the house for the post office, to inquire about such things.

He showed up half an hour later with a big box. It must have been a struggle too — not only because the box was heavy, but also because it had started snowing again on his way back and the whole thing looked ready to collapse with the wetness caused by the snowfall.

Still, as soon as he put the box down, she jumped on him, spreading kisses all over his face.

"Whoa," he muttered, pretending to be displeased when Effie rose to her toes and pecked his lips over and over again. "I get it, you're thankful."

"You saved our winter feast! Now we'll have the perfect evening," she insisted, smiling brightly at him.

Haymitch shrugged. "Not my fault those guys are lazy," he said as he dropped on the couch and she surveyed the box with interest. "They said the box arrived two days ago but they didn't bring it here because of the weather."

Effie hummed, not really disagreeing with those people; blizzards looked dreadful, cold, and very dangerous. She had spent the whole time Haymitch had been away killing herself with worry.

She showed him a few of the ornaments, and asked if he would be interested in getting them a tree for the living room, even if it was just for a day; Haymitch promptly denied and she didn't push it. The weather was bad enough and she really didn't want him to go outside and chop a tree off the ground — it seemed silly even, now that she thought about it. Some of the ornaments seemed too much of an exaggeration for the winter feast in Twelve. They weren't going to have a grand dinner with the finest of guests. It would be just them, and so there would be no need for such luxuries — at least not those that didn't go with a house as badly decorated as Haymitch's.

Well, it wasn't that it was badly decorated. It was just outdated, and badly maintained over the years. It was getting better now. At least the phone worked, as well as heating and there was warm water for the baths and showers. She still wished she could do something about the actual furniture, though.

Perhaps with time she'd be able to convince him to change things up a little.

She woke early the next day, the day of the feast — and was entirely vexed when she realized Haymitch had already woken up before her. It wasn't a frequent occurrence.

She found a note from him in the kitchen saying he was out with Katniss and she paid no attention to it; there was a lot of snow outside but it wasn't snowing anymore, so Effie felt confident they'd be fine on their own. They knew enough of the place to get by, she supposed.

She liked the idea of being alone — make a surprise out of it, she decided. She had a quick breakfast, spent at least an hour working on the turkey seasoning and making sure it would be good for later, and decided she might as well work on the rest of the food. She could always add the final touches later, and it would give her some time to be ready and enjoy the festivities in the evening.

It soon became apparent that she wasn't as much as an expert as she thought she would be — things weren't as simple when there was no one she could ask for help from — but she managed it. She'd ask Haymitch to try the gravy later on, see if it needed anything else, and the potatoes were a little overcooked but they'd do.

She left the rice cooking and decided she might as well work on the decorations. She would keep it simple, in a way that none of the guests — well, Haymitch, Katniss, and Peeta — would feel overwhelmed. An arrangement on the table. Fine cutlery for dinner — this would not be a meal for the kitchen table, certainly; they'd eat in the dining room.

She should have known it was going way too smoothly for it to be true.

She had just wanted to put some garlands on the back porch, and that was going to be a quick job so she hadn't bothered warming up and changing her shoes for snow boots — and thus why she lost her balance and fell on the floor, right on her butt. She let out a loud yelp and tried to soften the blow with her her hand, but it clearly wasn't enough.

Effie cursed. Rather loudly at that.

It took her perhaps a full second of not feeling anything at all — just plain surprise for having fallen — and then the pain shot through her wrist, right the one she had tried to get her balance from, and she couldn't help the tears stinging her eyes from the sharp feeling — and also from her bruised pride.

It was nothing.

"No garlands here, then," Effie muttered as she stood back up, keeping her hand close to her chest in an effort not to move it too much. She left the remaining decorations on the floor and went back inside. Her wrist would need some ice.

When she got to the kitchen, she couldn't help but make a face at the burnt smell — the rice was most likely ruined. She turned off the stove and decided she'd think about it later. Once her wrist wasn't hurting so much.

She hissed as the bag of ice hit her sore skin — her wrist looked alarmingly bigger than before but perhaps it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Effie sat dejectedly by the kitchen table, and tried not to worry too much. At least she had managed to make the dining room look good for the evening.

It took about ten minutes for Effie to hear the back door opening and Haymitch bursting in the kitchen, closely followed by Katniss — both holding a bag each, and Haymitch also held the garlands Effie had left at the back porch. When he noticed the ice on Effie's wrist, he frowned.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, unceremoniously dropping the bag on the floor and the garlands on the table. Effie would have made a face, but she was too busy worrying over her injury.

"I lost my balance," Effie explained lamely. Haymitch reaches for the ice. "No, no, no, leave it."

"How long has this ice been there for?" He asked.

"A few minutes. I don't even feel anything anymore!" Effie insisted, but she saw the look Haymitch shared with Katniss and did nothing as he slowly took the ice pack from her wrist.

Her skin was red — probably from the cold — but also quickly turning purple in a way that probably didn't have to do with the ice. It was safe to say her wrist was probably triple the size it usually was. Effie made a face and bit her lower lip. She looked away, and felt strangely nauseous.

"Okay. This doesn't look like a simple twist," Haymitch announced. Katniss was now at Effie's other side, checking the injury. "Think we should take you to the clinic."

Her stomach churned in a very unpleasant manner.

"No. You know I hate that place, Haymitch," Effie said, her free hand reaching for his jacket. "There's no need. I'm sure the ice will help."

"We had an ointment for that," Katniss commented, looking at Haymitch. "She's gonna need some painkillers too. Maybe a splint, I don't know. I could… guess I could call my mom and ask."

To say that Katniss' relationship with her mother was tentative was pushing it, but at that moment Effie was too glad that the girl seemed to consider going past that in order to help her. A trip to the clinic was a nightmare to her, the kind that made her physically sick instantly — and it had all to do with anxiety and trauma. Haymitch looked torn about the suggestion, though.

"I don't know, that looks ugly…"

"I don't want to spend today at the clinic, Haymitch," Effie insisted. "You know how these things are. Today is a holiday, it'll probably be full, and I… I hate that place."

He sighed. "Fine. But if that wrist isn't better tomorrow, we're going. Holiday or not."

His words were final, and Effie could see reason behind them — without the ice, her wrist was stinging painfully. She nodded.

"I'm gonna call Mom and then I'll bring stuff over," Katniss said quickly. "Try not to move that hand, Effie."

Katniss was gone without another word, and Haymitch gently put the ice pack back on her wrist. He stood up and took his jacket off, hanging it on the back of his chair, and she heard him moving behind her — checking the stove and the pans sitting there.

Effie couldn't help but sniff after a moment or two.

"Is the pain that bad?" Haymitch asked behind her. She heard the sound of water and figured he was probably making some tea.

Effie shook her head, and closed her eyes — the wrist didn't feel great but she felt so silly for the accident and the decorations and the injury — it was all _so_ _very_ _silly_.

She felt a warm hand on the back of her neck.

"Hey. What is it?" Haymitch asked, his tone soft now.

He was much more understanding than anyone gave him credit for, truly. And there was a side of him very few people saw, or perhaps she was the only one to see it. This made her even more emotional.

"I just wanted us to have a good holiday together," Effie started, her voice too high-pitched for her to control. "But I couldn't even stop the food from burning and I think the turkey will taste terrible and now I can't move my hand and I won't be able to finish the feast, I—"

"Whoa, okay," Haymitch interrupted her, wiping the tears that had fallen during her outburst from her cheeks. "It's fine. We'll have a good holiday."

She knew that patronizing tone too well. He was clearly trying not to laugh.

That infuriated her.

"I may have broken my wrist and you consider it a good holiday?" Effie asked, holding back the sobs and frowning at him.

Haymitch took his hand from her neck and held it out.

"Okay. _Not_ what I meant," he quickly said. "Just meant that we can make this work. Kind of unfair that you were gonna make it all on your own anyway, Princess."

"But it's tradition! My grandmother did it when I was a child and I—"

"Different times, sweetheart. We can have our own traditions. We could all each of us do something instead of just one person doing it all," Haymitch told her, dropping back on his chair. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all along."

Effie pursed her lips, still not happy with the outcome. "I couldn't even put all the garlands and ornaments where they should be," she muttered, wincing as she moved the ice pack a little.

"I can do that," he offered. Effie gave him a look. "I _can_. Damn, thank you for the vouch of confidence, sweetheart."

"No offense, darling, but you really are the worst at interior design," Effie sighed. The term of endearment seemed enough for him to put his arm around her shoulders, very slowly. "I just wanted today to be perfect. Last year we were all on our own for the holiday. And it's the first time the two of us get to spend it together, truly."

She sniffed again. Haymitch's arm moved from her shoulders to her back, where he drew soothing circles on.

"I know you think I'm being a sentimental fool, but it truly means a lot to me," Effie muttered, not caring that her voice cracked as she spoke. He had seen her at worst — this wasn't her top moment, surely, but it was definitely not the worst.

"I don't think you're a fool. I used to, but that was a long time ago," he added with a smirk. Effie shot him a look once more. He gave her a smile then — a true one. "It's gonna be alright. Trust me on it."

She nodded. As if there was anything else she could do, truly.

Katniss arrived just as Haymitch was pouring them both some tea, carrying a bag filled with painkillers, an actual splint, and an ointment. Her face was blank as she dropped the content on the table; Effie thought it was wise not make any comment on how lousy both she and Haymitch were around the house.

"Mom said you should take these," she pointed at the painkillers, "now and before you go to bed. They might make you drowsy but it'll help. You should keep ice on it today and tomorrow and use the splint to make sure you don't move it," the girl continued. "The ointment is for before you go to sleep tonight."

"If it's still swollen tomorrow, we'll go to the clinic," Haymitch repeated the words from before.

Katniss nodded. "Yeah, that's the best option. Uh, Mom wished you a happy holiday."

Effie was looking at all the medicine and thinking the blue splint would definitely not go with the outfit she had chosen for the evening, but she remembered to look up.

"Oh, we thank her, then. I do hope you wished her a happy holiday on our behalf," Effie said, remembering her manners.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure," she said. "I asked Peeta to bring you some lunch. We can finish the food for tonight, too."

Effie immediately shook her head, but Haymitch spoke before she could even think of it.

"Thanks, sweetheart. Effie appreciates it," he was being overly polite on purpose, she realized. She hated it when he did that. He then looked at her. "You heard the girl. Take the pills, go lie down. We'll call you when lunch is ready. Rest that arm, Princess."

The last words were soft and Effie let out a resigned sigh, looking from Haymitch to Katniss. There was no use in fighting those two if they happened to be on the same side. Effie would simply have to trust them to make the rest of the holiday — well, not _perfect_ , but as good as it could be. At least Peeta would help. Effie trusted him more at these things than Haymitch or Katniss, anyway.

It was a slow day for her, in the end of all things. The pills did make her drowsy and once she had had lunch, she slept the afternoon away, accidentally falling asleep on the couch in the living room, something that was just not done with you had guests in the house. She kept the wrist quiet, a little high on a cushion to make sure it would heal; truthfully, when she woke up again, it was late afternoon, and someone — Haymitch, definitely — had brought her to bed. She heard banging in the kitchen downstairs and bit her lip — there was nothing she could do to help, she reminded herself as she felt a sharp pain in her wrist.

Haymitch showed up not long after, and offered to help her bathe — she usually would have made a comment about how he just wanted her naked, but she was truly in such a gloomy mood that she didn't feel like teasing him. She tried not to complain when he helped her dress, and tried to smile at his own attempts at humor — he was better at getting her undressed than the opposite — and complimented him when he chose a not very ugly sweater and smart pants instead of his usual tarnished jeans and old T-shirt.

She truly didn't expect downstairs to look any different than she had left the place in, but as soon as she put her foot outside the bedroom and saw the garlands around the staircase, she knew they had all been holding out on her, and gave Haymitch her best smile and questioning glance.

He simply shrugged and told her to go ahead.

The living room had a fire going — Haymitch has _actually_ cleaned the fireplace and there were swirling little lights hanging from the curtains and she even spied presents on the coffee table — they didn't have a tree, but that was already way more than she had expected.

She looked at Haymitch over her shoulder.

"We just finished your decorating," he told her. "Not gonna lie, Peeta did most of it. Turns out all my ideas suck."

She did laugh at that — that was no lie, surely.

"And the presents?" she asked, a little curious.

He shrugged. "Gift exchanging is a tradition here too. Well, among those of us who had the money to spare. Which we all do at the moment," he reminded her, before she could truly feel bad about the reality they had all lived in for so many years. "We just got all the gifts together at once."

"We'll have to add mine to the pile later," Effie decided.

They moved to the dining room, where everything was as nicely decorated as Effie had left it in before her little accident that morning. Peeta was bringing the turkey in, and Katniss was standing a little awkwardly by the door that led to the kitchen. The boy gave her a big smile, and Effie smiled back. He started to ask if she liked what they had done to the house, but…

Well, Effie was too busy crying to answer him.

She just couldn't help it, truly. They were all _so_ nice to her. They had taken her in when no one else had and accepted her into their lives when she knew she wasn't the easiest person in the world, and they were all so different, and yet they tried to make the holiday the best thing ever and she just…

She just loved them all _so_ much. Even if they didn't know it.

"Alright!" Haymitch exclaimed next to her; she might have been mumbling a few words of gratefulness that certainly sounded unintelligible even to her own ears. Through her tears, she could see that Katniss looked a little mortified; Peeta looked understanding. Effie felt Haymitch's arm around her shoulders as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "All good now. Time to eat, right, sweetheart?"

Effie nodded, feeling so silly about herself, but none of them seemed inclined to make fun of her. Peeta pulled out a chair for Effie to sit next to Haymitch, and she smiled her thanks — he really was such a gentleman — and Katniss had already started cutting the meat for them all.

It was only when Effie surveyed the table that she took notice of something.

"Oh, couldn't you use the gravy I made?"

There was a moment where the three of them looked at each other, a little nervously. The room froze for a second or two.

"Well, you see, Effie…"

Peeta had started, but Effie gave him a sympathetic glance.

"It was bad, wasn't it?" she made a face. Peeta started shaking his head. "Don't you do that, Peeta. You're a terrible liar," she took a deep breath. "I'm glad we'll have an edible meal, then. It looks delicious."

"We only tried to improve what you had already made," Peeta placated, but he didn't fool her one bit.

Not when the turkey was delicious and the potatoes she had baked became mashed potatoes instead. Haymitch had to cut her meat in little pieces because she couldn't very well hold the knife with the splint on her wrist, which was decidedly not glamorous, but none of them seemed to mind and — well, she didn't mind it, either. They had apple pie for dessert, and it was heavenly enough that Effie was quite sure Haymitch had not made it despite claims that he had — since he had, after all, only one job to do before she had sprained her wrist. She let it go; they all looked so happy and content that she didn't want to call him out on it.

After dinner, they retreated to the living room to exchange gifts — both Katniss and Peeta got Haymitch a book each; Peeta gave Effie a very beautiful and delicate silver necklace and Katniss got her actually fashionable winter boots — or as fashionable as winter boots could be, anyway, as she had been wearing an old one that had belonged to Katniss' mother and refused to buy a pair herself until she could find prettier ones — so she had been very glad for the present. Haymitch kept it simple by giving both Peeta and Katniss a pair of gloves and Effie gave each of them a new jacket. No one mentioned that between the couples — or almost couples — no gifts were exchanged.

The children insisted on cleaning up, which was truly unfair since she was sure they had done most of the cooking, but she couldn't very well say she'd do it herself with one of her hands unavailable and she didn't quite trust Haymitch to clean them right away — it would be likely that the dishes would remain in the sink for a few days at least.

Judging by the small smiles and tentative talk between Peeta and Katniss, Effie suspected they appreciated the alone time.

And so she didn't mind it when she relaxed on the couch and accepted the eggnog Haymitch offered her — no alcohol, he promised — and snuggled next to him. It didn't matter that her skirt and sweater didn't match the bright blue of splint for her wrist, or that she hadn't been able to cook dinner. The house was lit up and decorated and the fireplace was clean and Haymitch was sober and warm next to her. He dropped a kiss on her hairline, and Effie felt content.

"How's the wrist?" he asked after a moment. They could hear the children talking in the kitchen — sounding animated, possibly teasing each other. She and Haymitch weren't in the habit of cuddling when there were people in the house, even if those people were Katniss and Peeta.

Effie raised her arm. "I think it's better. It doesn't seem very swollen anymore."

"Yeah, looks better."

"Do you know what I've just realized?" Effie asked him.

"What?"

He was smirking. Humoring her, as usual.

She didn't mind it.

"This is the first day in a while that we had no incidents," Effie declared.

Haymitch burst out laughing.

Effie pulled slightly away, a little baffled at such display.

"Sweetheart," Haymitch said after a moment, "you sprained your wrist. Katniss made a mess out of the kitchen when she decided to put the baked potatoes in the food processor without its lid. I actually fell on my ass while putting those garlands up there," he pointed to the garlands on top of the curtains, "and Peeta had to bring the apple pie because I can't make dessert to save myself."

The last point was added rather sheepishly. Effie laughed.

"I knew you couldn't have made such a good apple pie," she said, still laughing. "No, but... Well, obviously my sprained wrist was a very serious incident," she ignored the 'sure' he sent her way, "but we didn't have… fights, or silly dreams, or any serious episode. You know what I mean."

Haymitch nodded. "Yeah. Told you it was gonna be fine."

"I just... We weren't together last year," she started. "I was at the hospital, so was Katniss. You and I, we weren't in a good place then," she let out a long breath. He squeezed her shoulder softly. "I just wanted to celebrate that we've overcome that."

"We're together," Haymitch told her. "So even if everything had gone wrong, it wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

Effie smiled. "No. But I'm glad for what you did today. It was perfect."

He arched his eyebrows. "I haven't given your present yet. Might ruin the day for you."

Effie would have rolled her eyes if it wasn't such bad manners. Truly. Haymitch could say the sweetest things sometimes, but he also knew how to ruin a mood like no one else.

"I trust you won't give _me_ new gloves," she said after a moment. "Is it time for my present now, then?"

He looked at her for a serious moment, as if assessing the situation.

"Later," he said at last. "When the kids are gone."

Effie let out a rather loud laugh.

"Goodness, I hope it's not sexual, because I'm not sure I'll be able to do anything tonight, darling."

This time, he did roll his eyes, and a faint blush colored his cheeks. "It's not— you're impossible, Effie."

She still giggled.

"It could be our own tradition," she suggested.

Haymitch snorted. "What, dirty presents?"

She gasped. "No, of course not."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't play the prude."

"I'm not— I meant about presents later," Effie said, exasperated. "You're the one who's impossible, Haymitch. I don't know how I put up with you."

"Goes both ways, I guess." She'd have smacked him if she didn't feel so comfortable in his embrace. Truly, she would have. "Just kidding, Princess. That's a question I make every day, if I'm honest."

She pulled away just enough to look at him. Living together wasn't easy, they both knew it. But the fact that they were trying and they were on the same page, together, gave her hope.

"I'm happy to be here," she told him. "I'm happy."

It was a realization she had not thought of before — happiness came in moments. It used to be when she got new clothes, when they got a good sponsor, when she was successful in making him laugh out loud, and it used to be so rare before.

The moments — they were becoming more frequent now, she realized. Even if there were issues she didn't have before, even if she wasn't used to this terribly cold weather, even if she didn't have as much access to new, inventive fashion as she used to, even if they still argued... The arguments were with love, not hate or disgust as it had been in the past; the controlled weather of the Capitol never made her experience snow like this, and laugh and build a snowman and have Haymitch kiss her nose when she complained it was going to freeze; and she didn't really need fashion as much when sometimes all she needed was one of his old sweaters and warm socks. She needed fashion even less when in the nights, when their naked bodies pressed together was enough to keep her warm all night long.

"I'm happy too, Sweetheart," he kissed her forehead. "Just hope you'll be happy with the present I picked. Don't complain about it, you've just said this was a perfect day."

Effie laughed.

She had a feeling she'd love his present, no matter what.

* * *

 _A/N: So does anyone have a guess to what present Haymitch got? I was gonna elaborate more but felt it was good to stop right there. Let me know your thoughts and happy holidays!_


End file.
